Oh man, you guys. What. Is. Happening. In that picture? Laith looks like he should be serving coffee at Central Perk. Shalyah looks older than Annalise Keating. Alisan apparently just returned from Lilith Fair '99. Nick looks like he's wearing something from the Kylo Ren collection, while Mary Sarah apparently raided Kelly Clarkson's original audition closet. And Paxton looks like he repurposed a pair of pajama pants I had to throw away because they made me feel like a depressed clown. But yet -- the wardrobe wasn't the weirdest part of this elimination show? Like, that didn't even register until I looked at the picture. The actual weird part was definitely this…
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![Tyler Golden / NBC](http://previously.tv/m/2016-05-011-voice-02.jpg)
Tyler Golden / NBC
…and I'm not referring to Andy's face, or the fact that his Conner 4 Real alter-ego actually has a pretty great single on his hands.
I'm not even referring to the fact that the diner set is ridiculously detailed. Though, to be clear: the diner set constructed for a performance of a song from a mockumentary film by The Lonely Island is the most elaborate set ever constructed for a show that's supposedly all about finding pure musical talent. But that's not weird. What's weird is how much the set made me miss TRL, specifically the glory days of 1998 when Joey McIntyre's "I Love You Came Too Late" was a major countdown fixture. I hope Carson had the same flashbacks (they might give him the strength he desperately needs to pitch a reboot to Freeform).
Anyway, on to the elimination: Nick and Paxton find themselves in the bottom two, and the Twitter Save ends up being decided by less than 100 votes! Nick leaves, Paxton stays, and we're really all better off for it.
Here's your power ranking of the Top 8:
-
Hannah Huston
Pro: She's cute, she's talented, and she's got the young, exhausted teacher vote on lock.
Con: While other performers continue to improve, it feels like Hannah reached her max potential a few weeks ago.Saved By: America
Team: Pharrell -
Bryan Bautista
Pro: Surprisingly, he's already made it this far.
Con: Somewhere, a cruise ship is missing their backup singer and that one fog machine that was on the fritz.Saved By: America
Team: Christina -
Paxton Ingram
Pro: Paxton's 1-2 Jesus-praising performances away from running away with this whole thing.
Con: Blake's tried to break away from his typical playbook with the atypical Paxton, but that might end up doing more harm than good.Saved By: Twitter
Team: Blake -
Mary Sarah
Pro: She already has rhinestoned cowboy boots!
Con: She's everyone's second-favorite performer.Saved By: America
Team: Blake -
Adam Wakefield
Pro: Votes from West Virginia still count.
Con: His decorative background fire is a hotter performer.Saved By: America
Team: Blake -
Laith Al-Saadi
Pro: Just when you think Laith is a one-trick pony, he breaks out the piano and sounds ready to duel with Billy Joel.
Con: He's been an anomaly so far, and this really isn't a competition that rewards the weirdos.Saved By: America
Team: Adam -
Alisan Porter
Pro: She's worked her entire life for this, so at least you can't say she's lazy.
Con: Coach Christina's vocal theory is doing her a major disservice.Saved By: America
Team: Christina -
Shalyah Fearing
Pro: She's pure sweetness and raw talent, and she also gives great face during the Conner 4 Real sketch.
Con: What if she doesn't have time to finish high school?Saved By: America
Team: Adam
Here's how the teams now stand:
Team Pharrell: Hannah Huston
Team Blake: Adam Wakefield, Mary Sarah, Paxton Ingram
Team Christina: Alisan Porter, Bryan Bautista
Team Adam: Shalyah Fearing, Laith Al-Saadi